DEL-PGAL Youth Talent Search Summit 2025-26

Developing Enlightened Leadership (DEL)

Updates New

Posted on 12-02-2026

  1. The Final List of Selected Teams (Awardees) has been published. Selected team members are requested to visit IIT Kharagpur Research Park, New Town, Kolkata on 24th February, 2026.
    The Coordinating Member/Team Leader of selected teams will be notified via email with all relevant details and procedures.
    Check here: Final List of Selected Teams.

Posted on 29-01-2026

  1. The details of the teams shortlisted after the second round of evaluation have been published. The coordinating member will be notified via email regarding the next steps.
    Check here: Shortlisted Teams.

Posted on 16-01-2026

  1. To ensure delivery to everyone, Participation Certificates were re-sent to all participants in January 2026. If you have not received your certificate, please contact us at this email address: pga.leadership@iitkgp.ac.in
  2. All participation certificates were successfully sent via email to participants (both team leaders and members) by December 24, 2025.

Posted on 18-12-2025

  1. The list of shortlisted participants will be published in January 2026, and shortlisted participants will be notified via email.
  2. All successful participants will receive a participation certificate by December 2025.
  3. Emails regarding the submission status were sent to all Coordinating Members on 18th December, 2025.
  4. The evaluation process is currently in progress as of 18th December, 2025.
  5. Online submission closed on 30th November, 2025.
  6. "Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership" has been upgraded to "Partha Ghosh School of Leadership".

Call for Proposals


Dear Students,

Greetings from Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership (PGAL), IIT Kharagpur. On the occasion of Platinum Jubilee Celebrations 2025-26 of IIT Kharagpur, PGAL invites you all to participate in the "DEL-PGAL Youth Talent Search Summit 2025-26". This is a call for submitting your innovative project ideas in the form of Ideation Document to serve the society at large, with a vision of executing the idea in the form of a Do-It-Yourself Mode (DIY) of Design Thinking.

Note:

  • Each submission will be in the form of a 2 - 5-member Youth-Task-Force (YTF).
  • All submission will be digitally uploaded and then carefully reviewed by an expert Committee constituting of academicians and professionals in the respective fields (also termed as 'Area of Submission').
  • All participant Youth-Task-Force-Teams shall be given a Participation Certificate.
  • An Appreciation Certificate based on quality of performance (QoP) will be awarded to short-listed participant Youth-Task-Force-Teams.
  • The short-listed QoP team shall be invited for a final presentation before a board comprising of eminent jury members.
  • The top 10% best teams will be given an opportunity to showcase their projects in a certain exhibition-format in a Curtain Raiser Program at IIT Kharagpur Research Park Premises New Town, Kolkata (last week of February 2026).
  • The top submissions shall be duly awarded along with Leadership booster kits during the Curtain raiser program.
  • A PRESS MEET will be organised to release the news and details of overall participation and the top submissions nationally.
  • A comprehensive E-brochure shall be released based on the content of short-listed and top 10% submissions. An e-copy shall be forwarded to all participants, and also, uploaded in the Institute website for best outreach.

Key Details:

  1. Levels of participation

    • Level 1: School Level (classes IX - XII)
    • Level 2: Undergraduate Level
    • Level 3: Post-graduate Level

  2. Areas of submission

    Level 1

    • Basic Sciences and Arts - primarily focused for school level students

    Level 2 & Level 3

    STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with a special focus on any one domain:

    • Electrical and Mechanical Sciences
    • Advanced Communication and Data Sciences
    • Biological and Health Sciences
    • Physical Design Sciences (inclusive of Architecture, Civil Engineering, Policy and Strategic Planning and Advanced Infrastructure Design)
    • Management Sciences (inclusive of Business Management, Business Analytics & Marketing)
    • Social and the Humanitarian Sciences (inclusive of Economics and Law)
    • Creative Art, Craft & the Media Design Sciences

  3. Team Size & Features

    • 2 - 5 members
    • 1 - 2 women members in a team are preferred
    • Higher priority may be given if a woman member leads the YTF

  4. Tentative timeline for the summit

    • Proposal Submission Deadline: November 30 (Sunday), 2025 11:59 PM IST - acknowledgement note shall be forwarded within a fortnight.
    • First Round of Shortlisting: End of first week of December, 2025 (hybrid mode)
    • Second Round Shortlisting: During an event prior to Kshitij (Techno-management Fest of IIT Kharagpur) to be held tentatively on third week of January 2026
    • Declaration of top 10% Submissions: February 10, 2026
    • Presentation, Exhibition and Press Meet at IIT Kharagpur Research Park, New Town, Kolkata: February 21 -23, 2026
    • Award Ceremony at IIT Kharagpur Research Park, New Town, Kolkata: February 24, 2026

  5. Submission Steps

    • Download the DEL-PGAL e-Brochure (.pdf) and study it thoroughly
      • Download e-Brochure
    • Click below to download the DEL-PGAL Form (.docx)
      • Download Form
    • Fill up the form with the idea of Youth-Task-Force (YTF)
    • Clearly identify who is the Team Leader and her/ his contact no/ email ids
    • Save or convert the duly filled up DEL-PGAL Form (.docx) as “Team's Name.pdf” (Team's Name as file name and PDF format is mandatory). Maximum PDF file size is 10 MB.
    • Click on the Submission Link button below. Fill up the google form and upload the form file (in .pdf). Then Submit.

    *No later submissions shall be entertained as the submission portal will automatically close after the submission deadline. No submission via email shall be entertained. Submission shall be done by filling out the details in the above link and uploading your proposal only.
    *The schedule and rules are subject to change due to unavoidable circumstances. Please stay updated by visiting this webpage regularly.

Key Highlights of the Proposal

Your proposal must have the following features:

  1. Please note that a team should be comprised of at least 2 members and maximum 5 members.
  2. A member can participate only in one team and a team identified as a Youth-Task-Force (YTF) can submit only one proposal.
  3. The proposal should include
    • a brief preamble - why and what is your vision?
    • Whom are you serving at the end of the day? Who are the primary stakeholders or beneficiaries?
    • What is your methodology or approach to arrive at the Design product in the future?
    • How your YTF shall leverage and scale up a Leadership effort to positively influence over others.
  4. Your proposal has to draw some important directions from the NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL POLICY 2020, Government of India; aligns with the Viksit Bharat mission of the Government of India; and Unnat Bharat Abhiyan or equivalent Nation Building Program of the Government of India.
  5. Your project should have one elemental thinking that integrates a value-added input coming from an Indian knowledge system with another input representing a technological advancement in our contemporary times. Please indicate that in your proposal. For example, if your proposal is related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), please explain how you have considered the dimension of a 'Value or Human-centrism' or 'Ethics and Collective Good' along with AI.
  6. Your proposal should be mapped to one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations to indicate which societal challenges you are addressing. Visit https://sdgs.un.org/goals for more information on SDGs and https://sdgindiaindex.niti.gov.in/ for more information on India's position on these SDGs.
    SDGs: (i) No Poverty, (ii) Zero Hunger, (iii) Good Health and Well Being, (iv) Quality Education, (v) Gender Equality, (vi) Clean Water and Sanitation, (vii) Affordable and Clean Energy, (viii) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (ix) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (x) Reduced Inequalities, (xi) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (xii) Responsible Consumption and Production, (xiii) Climate Action, (xiv) Life Below Water, (xv) Life on Land, (xvi) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (xvii) Partnerships for the Goals.
  7. The proposal must have a broad research approach or a methodology. A short literature review is required to justify your value addition in comparison to the existing solutions in the form of references to articles, books, papers, and publications in the year your YTF is representing.
  8. The proposal should be envisaging and designing a prototype or a design idea, then please highlight the approach or methodology to arrive at that prototype.
  9. Finally, your proposal should portray a key idea that is represented by a novel and innovative vision diagram to best streamline your arguments and explanation.
  10. Your proposal should close with end references and bibliography following Harvard style.

Some Examples to Initiate Your Creative Imagination

  • Design of a barrier-free street furniture in particular road crossing of a big city
  • Developing an APP to facilitate affordable but quality food services to an Old Age Home
  • Design of a Creative Art and culture retail outlet in a small airport
  • Architecture of a MEMS (Micro Electro-mechanical systems) Circuit in a bill-board facilitating movement in a busy shopping arcade
  • Design of a Biophilic (Green elements of design) Gazebo in a City Park
  • A mobility facility centre in a Village River Ghat
  • A Greenfield tractor system in broad-acre farming for poor farmers
  • A reversible water supply system to facilitate project construction for needy poor people in remote hilly areas
  • An innovative Museum gallery module based on affordable AR/VR/other e-facility

If you face any issue, please contact to this e-mail id: pga.leadership@iitkgp.ac.in